Misty Secret
by Wilona Riva
Summary: Danny finished drying his jet black hair with the cotton candy pink towel-Dad had mixed reds and whites again-when he saw the indigo envelope.
1. Long Ago

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

_Author's Note: Transferred from my old account. I've had to fix a lot of error within dealing with spelling, punctuation, and goodness knows what else. If you catch anything I missed, let me know so I can fix it, please. Other than that, the only changes you will see are some renaming of a few chapter titles._

* * *

**Long Ago**

* * *

_As far back as anyone can remember, there was only Father. No one knows or remembers when Father wasn't._

_Father is Family._

_The Family is divided into eighty-four quartets-roughly we number three hundred and more. _

_The Family is further divided by our species:_

_Ghosts_

_Hunters_

_Gwyna_

_Djinn_

_Vampires_

_Glasswryn_

_Amorphs_

_There are others, subspecies to our Family, but these are the predominant ones Father called to His side on Creation Day._

_We cannot reproduce on our own, a human must be brought over. To become Family is the highest honor a mortal can receive. Sometimes Father will consent to allow a Quartet to become a Quintet, if love be true. The human in question, for it must be a human, will become Family by marraige-a Halfling._

_Thus far, only one Halfling exists-a ghost hunter who protects us from the Others. _

_The Others are hunters of the Family._

* * *

Danny finished drying his jet black hair with the cotton candy pink towel-Dad had mixed reds and whites again-when he saw the indigo envelope. He slit the seal and began to read.

_**You are Family, Daniel. I am proud to call you my son. Your Quartet will come for you soon. Embrace your Death with joy; for Life is soon at hand.**_

_**Father**_

"What the heck?" Danny scratched his head. "I know Mom and Dad spend a lot of time chasing ghosts, but this is a bit out of line."

"What is?" Jazz asked, passing his doorway.

"_This_," Danny said, waving the indigo envelope in the air with his right hand. "A bunch of nonsense about dying and family."

"Did some one say 'Family'?" Jack asked, appearing out of nowhere causing Danny and Jazz to jump three feet in the air.

"Will you quit doing that?" Jazz yelled. "That's the second time this morning, in the last half-hour."

Danny rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to know.

His mother yanked the envelope out of his hands. "Jack, it's one of _theirs!"_

Together both parents tried to decipher the message, but like all the other letters they had retrieved over the years, the words eluded them. Both sighed and turned and faced their son.

"Again, we cannot decipher the message in the invitation letters," Maddie sighed. "Danny, where did you get this envelope?"

"I found it on my pillow when I got out of the shower," he replied. "What is the big deal anyway?"

"Were you able to read it?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," his son answered, one arm through his backpack's straps.

Jack and Maddie exchanged glances once more.

"Did you have any dreams last night?" his mother asked. "Anything out of the norm?"

"The one where I'm kissing a girl hot and heavy on the lips and feeling her up underneath her shirt?" He rolled his eyes and finished putting on his backpack. "Seriously, guys, grow up already. We had the T-A-L-K last year."

He brushed past them and stomped down the stairs. Throwing open the front door, Sam greeted him with a sensual smile. He froze. "Uh, hi, Sam."

"Hi, yourself, Danny," she laughed.

"You're happy," he blurted out, surprised. "Are goths allowed to be happy?"

"It is if you managed to convince your parents to quit buying pink frilly dresses," she grinned. "Tucker said he'd meet us at lunch. Something about a computer software free trial or whatever he was yammering about yesterday."

"The new Portals Panorama," Danny replied, as they crossed the intersection at Misty Avenue and West Road.

"So why storm city?"

"Stupid parents questioning me about a weird letter I got. Their obsession with hunting down this weird group called the Family is driving me nuts. I wish they'd just stick to ghosts."

"I sympathize," she told him, "but later on at lunch. Dji is dying to meet you."

"Dji?" Danny froze.

"Deejay Stanton?"

"The red-headed girl obsessed with turning Falluca's classroom into the Antarctic so we can study polar bears? The girl who _actually_ wears a fur coat to school and has yet to make it on your social calendar because said reason?" Danny shook his head in unbelief.

Sam's eyes turned a strange shade of indigo. "Danny?" she said in a low hypnotic tone.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Author's Note: I will not be explaining what the species are unless it pertains to the story. A **gwyna** is the white lady of urban myth.


	2. Dreams

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Dreams**

* * *

_The first step in becoming Family, is the Dream. Then comes the Letter of Invitation, only decipherable to the receiver._

_A family of Others who have hunted us through the ages has been collecting our letters; the last one they collected was a month ago when our gwyna joined us. Now, they have their own son's._

_We must protect him during his time of conversion._

_The third step is in the Sharing. The mortal must willingly share food with a member of his Quartet, a type of food only Family use to sustain themselves._

_With the fourth step comes Father._

_Father is Family._

* * *

Danny's eyes were crossed. Zoning out Mr. Lancer's boring lecture on _Candide_, he thought back to last night's dream.

_The lonely shore stretched for miles below him; the moon bright on its rim, touching the water with its pure whiteness._

_"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice resounded all around him._

_"Yes," he answered._

_"This is our world, Daniel. The world your mortal parents wish to destroy."_

_"But, it's beautiful here," Danny protested, confused by the unseen speaker. "Why would they want to do that?"_

_"They do not understand; that is the way with humans. They always seek to destroy that which they do not understand. Family, Daniel, is life. Do you not agree?""_

_Danny was silent._

_"Be Family, Daniel. You worry about finding love among the humans. Do not fear. With Family, there is love."_

_Danny frowned. "Who are you?"_

_"I am Father, Daniel. You are my son."_

_"You are not my father," Danny protested, clenching his fists. "My father is Jack Fenton and if you are a ghost, then watch out. My dad hunts ghosts."_

_"Ah, an Other and the son of Others. You are not Other, Daniel. You are Family. Do not forget."_

_A girl with indigo eyes and raven hair swept up in elaborate ringlets shimmered into view beside him. "I am Vyx, Daniel. You are meant for me. You are Family." She leaned in to him._

_Danny let out a squeak as he felt sharp incisors bite his lower lip. "You bit me!"_

_"I am a vampire, Daniel. We are part of the Family."_

_Father smiled._

"Mr. Fenton, can you tell me what the coinage of El Dorado is?" Mr. Lancer thundered at the sleeping boy in the back of the room, causing him to jump.

"Gold, sir?" Danny's quiet voice asked.

"No, Mr. Fenton," the teacher scowled at the boy. "Apparently, some one decided to skip doing his homework, class, and stayed up late playing video games."

"I wasn't playing video games," Danny muttered, slumping down in his seat.

Sam gave him a sympathetic look.

"What was that, Mr. Fenton?"

"Sir, nothing, sir!"

"Detention, Mr. Fenton, for that snappy little comment."

* * *

"The nerve of him!" Danny exploded, careful not slam his lunch tray down on the counter.

"The nerve of her, you mean," Sam replied, glaring at the lunchroom's west door.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "It's just another petition to save the polar bears, Sam. Leave DeeJay alone. Now, Valerie, on the other hand...Wowza!"

Danny and Sam hid their smiles. Ever since Valerie had strangely blossomed overnight, Tucker had been chasing after her.

"She's not going to accept you, Tuck. Forget about it," Sam told him.

"How do you know?" Tucker mock-glared at her. "And it's really freaky how your eyes change color like that."

"Like what?" Sam asked, taking a sip of a thick strawberry smoothie she'd made at home.

"Want a sip, Danny?" she offered, noticing Danny staring at her.

"Sure," he shrugged, taking the second straw she proffered. "Wow, Sam, this is delicious! A bit salty though."

She smiled.

"Hi, would you like to sign my petition?" DeeJay Stanton chirped from behind them.

"We are not turning Falluca's classroom into the Antarctic," Sam scowled at her.

"Actually, that's the Arctic," came the tart reply. "Antarctica's on the other end."

"Stow it, Dji," Sam told her.

"Has he shared?" DeeJay asked, noticing the second straw in Danny's hands.

"Yeah, it was a bit salty for a strawberry smoothie," the boy in question said, looking at both girls.

"It wasn't strawberry," DeeJay told him slyly.

"Shut it," Sam hissed.

"Hi, Tucker, want to sign my petition?" the polar-furred girl flitted next to him.

"Will it help me to get a date with Valerie?" the techo-geek asked hopefully.

"Nope."

"Then, no thanks," Tucker told her flatly.

DeeJay harrumphed and took off towards the band geeks' table.

"She never gives up," Danny noted.

"She'd probably ice the room herself if she could get away with it," Sam replied. "Want another sip?"

"Sure."

Tucker thought he saw Danny's eyes glow indigo for a moment, then dismissed it as a trick of the light, when Danny's normal ice blue eyes darted his way.

"Way too many vegetables last night," he muttered to himself. "Should've stuck to the meatloaf."


	3. Quartet

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Quartet**

* * *

_It is Father who always does the turning. It is within us, what we will become._

* * *

"What the heck was that, Fenton!" Coach Tetslaff barked at the skinny twig boy in front of her.

"I don't know," Danny said, staring down at his hands. _What the heck was that?_

* * *

Maddie put down the phone and leaned against the wall. "Not our baby. Please, not our baby boy." Her son's P.E. teacher had just phoned her about the little 'exhibition' Danny had put on in class.

Jack entered the room, towel drying his white-streaked short dark hair. "Something's happened to Danny?"

Maddie's lavender eyes searched her husband's royal blue ones for a sign, any sign. "The same thing is happening to Danny, that happened to the Grey girl. He's showing the outward physical changes. Their _Father_," she spat the word out, "will be coming soon."

Jack scowled. "Maddie, he hasn't turned yet. Danny is still human. We don't know the stages of the conversion-only the outward physical signs. He was fine this morning when he left."

"Jack, he Dreamed! Our baby Dreamed. That surely must mean something to you?" Maddie leaned into her husband bulky frame for support. He wrapped his arms around her.

"We can only hope, Maddie. We'll collect him directly after school and run some diagnostics."

* * *

"Green ecto-energy," Valerie whispered softly to Vyx and Dji. "A sure sign he'll be a ghost."

"Hope he has a cold ectoplasmic core," Dji murmured, excited.

"Down, girl," Vyx laughed, indigo eyes sparkling. "Then we are agreed?"

"After school it is," the others said in unison.

* * *

"You fired off a green ray of light and vaporized the basketball net?" Tucker gaped at him. "Man, that's impossible."

"You're telling me," Danny replied, shoving his books into his locker. "Oh, hey, Sam."

"Hi, yourself. Danny, DeeJay and Valerie and I are having a study session after school for French. Want to come over?"

"Valerie? Can I come over too?" Tucker pleaded. "Pretty please?"

"Down, boy," Sam laughed. "You opted for Business Math this semester, remember? This is strictly a study session. Danny has class with us and that's why he's invited. You, on the other hand, just want to cozy up to the gwyna."

"What's a gwyna?" Danny asked, giving her a confused glance.

"I'll tell you later," Sam replied, shooting Tucker a warning look. "Stay away from Valerie, Tucker, if you want to live."

"Ouch," the techno-geek mock-hissed. "That's cold, Sam."

"I'm serious, Tucker," the goth girl told him, her indigo eyes boring into his jade ones.

Tucker turned to Danny for an answer, but only to find blue eyes flash green, then mirror Sam's indigo orbs. "Okay," he whispered in defeat.

* * *

"You've contacted the two quartets in the region of Amity Park, Skulker?" the slender framed, white-haired indigo eyed man asked the hunter.

"Yes, Vladimir," the robotic ghost hunter replied.

"How is Ember today?" Vladimir asked the ghost.

"Fine. Complaining of the young one kicking up a storm, but that's to be expected of expectant mothers. I have never regretted the chance you gave me, old friend."

"Nor am I," Vlad replied, indigo eyes turning a light shade of teal. "Ember loved you enough for the Family to embrace you. I'm sorry your body was destroyed in the process."

"A half-life is better than none," Skulker reminded him. "You know this better than anyone."

"True," Vlad replied, picking up the phone. "I will be in Amity Park for the next few nights, welcoming a new member of the Family across the threshhold."

"Ah, young Vyx has found her mate at last?" Skulker guessed.

"Yes," Vlad chuckled. "Pamela and Jeremy will be glad for a chance to play the suspicious snooty upper class parents again, I suspect. Their family has been waiting for him for the last eight centuries. Humans can be so droll at times."

"What about the Others?" Skulker asked him, as he picked up the humans' communication device and randomly punch some numbers.

"I will take care of Maddie and Jack," Vlad told him, hearing the other end finally beginning to ring. "Hello, Maddie, it's Vlad."

"Hello, Maddie, it's Vlad," Maddie's eyes widened upon hearing an old forgotten voice.

"V-v-vlad?" she squeaked out, only to have her husband yank the phone out of her hands.

"Vladdie!" Jack's exuberant voice caused Vlad to wince on the other end. "It's been twenty years, V-Man. They haven't come back yet, have they?"

"Jack, you know better than that," his old friend's cultured voice sighed. "I have not been attacked since that day. The ecto-acne took a year and half to clear up. Yes, it did give me supernatural powers for a time, but that faded within weeks. I think it was some sort of weakened side-effect. NO, YOU ARE NOT RUNNING TESTS ON ME TO FIND OUT!"

* * *

Jack held the phone away from his ear when Vlad began yelling. "Sorry, V-Man, didn't mean to offend you. We're having troubles with the Family here in Amity Park. Yeah, we know who they are, but they have eluded us each time we zone in on them." He exchanged a few more pleasantries with Vlad, then finally broke down and told him about this morning's discovery. He nodded a few more times before hanging up.

Maddie raised inquisitive eyebrows at him. "What was that all about?"

Jack looked at her. "I don't know. Vlad starting yelling, then told me that he had business in town to deal with and asked if he could stay with us for a few days. I had to tell him, Maddie. He knows more about the Family than any one alive."

"I guess it was for the best," Maddie replied, hoping Vlad had grown up a bit in the two decades since they had last met in college.


	4. Second Dreaming

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Second Dreaming**

* * *

_With dusk, there comes a second Dreaming._

* * *

"Sorry, I couldn't make it, Sam," Danny apologized via webcam that evening. He winced in slight pain as his leg twitched.

"That's okay, Danny," he heard Valerie say in the background.

"Where's Sam?" he asked.

"Gone to talk to her parents about something," DeeJay replied. "I heard a little rumor today."

Danny's eyes widened. "Oh, man! The whole school must know about that by now."

Valerie laughed. "We're in the class after yours, so we heard Testlaff's phone call. I'm guessing that was why your parents freaked out and whisked you home to run tests."

"Yeah," Danny replied, rubbing his sore leg. "It still hurts a little."

"Hey, Danny," Sam greeted him, walking in view of the camera with a big grin on her face. "Father is coming to visit us. My parents just got word today."

DeeJay squealed and hugged her. "We're blessed!"

"Down, Dji," Sam said, rubbing the fur off her clothes. "Start wearing the synthetic stuff; my dry cleaning bill is murder."

Danny and Valerie exchanged glances, before Danny heard his mother's voice calling him downstairs. "I gotta go."

"Hey, Danny, we're going to Bessie's for ice cream," Sam called out, dodging DeeJay's mock tackle. "Want to meet us there in an hour?"

_"DANNY!"_

"Sure," he replied, "that's if I can get out of the house."

"See you then."

Maddie ordered him to sit down. She and Jack stared down at the notes and diagrams they'd made of Danny's tests and both drew the same conclusion: Danny was close to converting.

Danny gulped when he saw the glowing green knife on the kitchen counter. Being near his parents was making him more nervous by the minute. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Danny," his father boomed. "How much do you know of what your mother and I do for a living?"

He blinked. "You hunt ghosts and make whacked out inventions that never work. What kind of a question is that any way?"

"Partially correct," Maddie replied. "Danny, your father and I are hunters, just not of ghosts. We hunt down a dark organization called the Family. They recruit members from the human race to join them."

"What?"

"Our family has hunted them down for generations. Starting tomorrow, after school, you'll begin learning the ropes," his father explained.

Danny's eyes darkened to indigo. "You're joking, right?"

Maddie shook her head. "No, Danny, we're not." She picked up the knife; Danny flinched.

"Would it be alright if I met Sam at Bessie's?" he asked.

"You know the rule about being out after dark, Danny," his father warned.

"Please, I'll be careful. I've already had to miss a group study session for French class."

"Be home before ten, sweetie. We have company coming tomorrow."

"Maddie!"

"We can't keep him locked up forever," she argued, noting her son's whoop of joy as he ran for the hills.

* * *

Jeremy peeped out the window. "He's here," he whispered. "Remember, Miss Vyx asked us to have fun, but not go overboard."

Pamela smiled. "I know, Jeremy. I love the girl and am so glad she's finally found her soul mate."

The doorbell rang chimed.

Jeremy grinned. "Show time!"

Danny gulped as two very imposing parents bore down on him. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Manson, is Sam still here?"

"Yes, dear," Mrs. Manson replied in a snooty tone. "Samantha, darling, the Other boy is here!"

Danny blinked. "Other?" he mouthed to Mr. Manson, who shot his wife a warning look and shrugged in reply. Danny took that as a sign to never try and interpret the mind of a woman.

Mr. Manson smiled down at the uncomfortable boy. "Are your parents still wearing those awful jumpsuits? I can recommend a good tailor, if they can afford it."

Danny glared at him. "Do you have something against jumpsuits, Mr. Manson?" he asked, blue irises turning green and indigo.

"Of course not, dear boy, I'm just saying..."

"A bit too much, again, Dad," Sam replied, dragging Danny out the door. "Be back at sunrise."

"Okay, dear," Mrs. Manson waved good-bye cheerfully.

Jeremy closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. It was never a good idea to make a ghost angry.

"So why are we here and not at the ice cream parlor? And what's up with the weird clothes?" Danny asked, staring at the haunted crossroads. "You look like you're wearing a shroud."

"This is where we come to ply our trade," Valerie explained, her indigo eyes hidden beneath the layers of white filmy guaze she wore. "This is what we are, Danny. You complete our Quartet. I'll go and fetch our meal."

Danny frowned. "This sounds familiar for some reason."

Sam nodded, smoothing down her own vampish get-up. "We all went through it," she told him. "This is the Second Dreaming."

Danny's eyes instantly turned indigo; they wouldn't turn fully spectral green until Father helped him across the threshold. He turned and saw a car approaching in the distance; Valerie in the front seat.

* * *

Ten o'clock came and went and there was no sign of Danny. Maddie paced back-and-forth, pausing to look out the window. "Where is he?"

Jack yawned. "It is a Friday night. Maybe he decided to sleep over at Sam's house?"

"Her parents hate our guts," Maddie reminded him. "Besides, he would have called by now."

"He lost track of time?"

"Jack, be serious. Though you may be right. I'll call them."

(Fifteen minutes later)

"You were right. They finished studying, went out for ice cream, watched a few horror movies and are sound asleep in the family room," Maddie reported. "I am going to strangle that boy the minute he walks in that door."

"Let's go to bed, Maddie," Jack told her, steering her in the direction of the stairs. "We'll have another talk with him when he comes home in the morning."

* * *

Danny threw back his head in ecstasy as the last of the human's emotions surged through his veins. He opened his now glowing emerald-tinted indigo eyes.

"Enjoyed your first feast, Danny?" Dji asked, her hands glowing a soft blue as she ice-dusted the flesh of the prey.

"It was...I can't describe it," he murmured. He stared down at the blood on his hands. "I killed a...a ..."

"A living soul, Daniel," a cultured voice broke through. "A very thorough job, I might add. Dji, make sure the corpse is properly disposed of."

Danny looked up into the eyes of the speaker. A tall thin man, dressed in an old-fashioned business suit, smiled down at him with indigo rimmed teal eyes. "Who are you?"

"Uncle Vlad," he replied, smoothly. "That is what you will call me on the morrow."

"Okay," Danny murmured, his eyes slowly closing in sleep.

"How long, Father?" Vyx asked him.

"Three days," Father smoothly replied. "Hopefully, he will be an easy one. Changing an Other child is never easy."


	5. Uncle Vlad

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Uncle Vlad**

* * *

_Third Dreaming is also called Crossing the Threshold._

* * *

"Danny! Time to get up or you'll be late for school!" Maddie shouted up the stairwell; Danny had staggered in half-past midnight, apologizing for falling asleep at Sam's and worrying her.

Inside his room, said son was already up, staring at his reflection. His normal ice blue eyes were indigo with electric green flecks. He dimly remembered going out with Sam and the others, but not to the ice cream parlor.

They had killed someone.

Had it all been a dream?

**DING DONG!**

In the fifteen minutes, Danny had taken to shower and dress, he noted several other changes. He was more confident with himself, his normal black hair had a white streak starting at the temple, and thank the stars in Orion's belt, his eyes had turned back to normal.

"DANNY!"

"COMING!" he yelled back.

He knew him; the strange man from his dreams, from last night.

"Danny, this is Vladimir Masters, an old friend of ours; we went to college together," his mother said, introducing them. "Vlad, this is our son, Danny."

The tall, thin man with the unnaturally white hair extended one hand. Danny gave him a weak shake. "Surely, you can do that a little better, little badger?"

"Maybe later, Uncle Vlad," the boy said, uncertain where the term came from. "I have to get to school now."

The man smiled, teal eyes flashing indigo. "We will get to know each other later then, Daniel."

"Danny," the boy shot back as he ran through the door.

Maddie stared after her son's retreating form. "He's ever closer to becoming one of them."

"Is that so bad a thing?" Vlad asked her.

* * *

"Tucker went on ahead of us," Sam said, as they met up on the corner by her house. "He mumbled something about an upgrade to his PDA."

"He's forever upgrading his PDA," Danny joked, his voice flat. "Sam, can I ask you something?"

"If it's about my age, no," she told him sharply. "I've long ago quit counting."

"It's not that," Danny hastily reassured her. "It's about last night."

"What do you remember about last night?" Sam asked him.

"Everything," Danny answered. "It scares me, Sam. I'm becoming something not human. And Father showed up on my doorstep this morning."

Sam smiled. "Becoming Family, Danny, is a high honor bestowed upon few. I was human the same as you once. It scared me too when I first crossed the Threshold. That's why Father is here."

Danny sighed. "My parents hunt ghosts and others of the Family, Sam. I don't want them to turn on me."

Sam stopped him. "Danny, you have the rest of your quartet to back you up. Dji, Val and I are here for you. Tonight, when you cross the Threshold, it will be of your own choosing, not anyone else's."

* * *

"V-man, good to see you again," Jack exclaimed as he came upstairs in answer to Maddie's summoning.

"The pleasure is all mine," Vlad said silkily. "How goes the hunting?"

"We are certain of the Grey girl, but can't touch her legally as she is still a minor under the law. We also know there is a vampire of the Sol clan in the area. There are others of the Family, but their identities and the vampire's alludes us," Jack replied stoically.

"Would it be easier on you if they were moved out of the area?" Vlad asked him.

"No," Maddie answered. "If Danny is becoming one of them, then we'll be forced to hunt him as well."

"Maddie, wouldn't it just be easier if you accepted him and what he might become?" Vlad asked her calmly. "I entered their world for a short time after my accident; they are not evil."

"You could be their mysterious Father, for all we know, V-man," Jack joked.

"How ever did you deduce that?" Vlad sarcastically quipped, before joining in the laughter.


	6. Edge of the Wind

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Edge of the Wind**

* * *

"Okay, this is getting really creepy," Sam said, sliding into her usual spot at their lunch table.

"What is?" Tucker asked through a mouth of hamburger.

"Chew, then swallow, before you speak," Danny chided his friend. "That is seriously gross."

Tucker finished his mouthful before speaking again. "Sorry, Sam just startled me. So, what has finally managed to creep out the resident Goth girl?"

"Stupid rumors," Sam said, stabbing her salad with her spork. "Someone started a rumor that I sleep in a coffin."

"You are a vampire, Vyx," Val piped in, leaning over Tucker's shoulder and snagging one of his fries.

"Hey, go get your own!"

"Make me."

Danny laughed. "Vyx?"

"It's a nickname," Sam shrugged. "I'm a day vampire of the Sol clan."

"That's a Goth role-playing game, right?" Tucker asked.

"Of a sort," Valerie replied. "Danny and I are the newest members, are rather Danny will be, once Father brings him into the Family."

Danny gulped. "I'm having second thoughts about this, Val."

Valerie shook her head. "It's too late, Danny. You've Dreamed twice and participated in a Sharing. Now comes the Third Dreaming."

Tucker shook his head. "You guys are seriously confusing me. So, how do you join this role-playing game? Sounds like fun."

"You can't," DeeJay answered, holding her clipboard as a shield against Sam's poisonous glare. "Father is the only who decides who can join the Family. Mostly it is Other children who are chosen."

"Other children?" Tucker asked.

"The Others are hunters of our kind," DeeJay explained. "In the game, we each play one of a species of the Family, a group of supernatural creatures. Sam is a day vampire of the Sol clan called Vyx. I'm Dji, an ice djinn, and Val is a gwyna."

"What's a gwyna?" Tucker asked. "And what's Danny's role going to be if he passes the initiation?"

Sam blinked. Tucker was asking questions a bit too close to home. Father would have to be told. "A gwyna, according to the rule book," she said, "is a male or female completely dressed in a death shroud who lures their prey to their deaths, usually at a crossroads. Think of it kind of like the white lady of urban myth."

"As for Danny," Val replied, "see the green in his eyes?"

"Yeah?" Tucker asked, noting the eye color change again.

"He's going to be a ghost," Val grinned.

"Okay, you guys are scary," Tucker complained. "I don't want to hear any more about this game you're playing. Can we talk about something else?"

Danny listened to Sam rant some more on that stupid rumor that was floating around, while his thoughts were a million miles away. These three girls, in their own fashion, were preparing him for his ordeal.

Tonight was going to be hell.


	7. Dying Wind

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Dying Wind**

* * *

Supper that night was a sorry affair.

Danny, armed with his new knowledge of the Family, was more than ever convinced that Uncle Vlad was Father. _Great, I'm even thinking like one of them._

_Perfectly normal, given the circumstances._

Danny's eyes snapped open to meet Uncle Vlad's teal ones. "Did you just say something to me in here?" he asked, pointing at his head.

"Virtually impossible for a human to do that, little badger," the billionaire smiled, as he took a sip of water.

"No lingering side effects, Vladdie?" Jack asked him, a bit concerned.

"None, Jack," Vlad firmly replied. "Where is Jasmine? I haven't met her yet."

"She's at the library working on her thesis. She mumbled something about being home late," Danny said, taking a bite out of his macaroni.

Uncle Vlad smiled. _Good, one less to worry about come the witching hour._

Danny choked. "You did just say something in my head!"

His parents stared at him. "Danny, why don't you go up to your room?" he mother suggested.

"So the grown ups can have a private conversation about me behind my back?" Danny shot back, rising to his feet. "Sure, go ahead. See if I care."

"Daniel Fenton, that is not the way you speak to your mother," Jack reprimanded his son.

"I'll talk to him," Vlad offered, escorting a protesting Danny out of the room and upstairs.

"Being Family is not a game, Daniel," he told the boy, when they were out of earshot. "Do not toy with the Others."

"When will the change occur?" Danny asked him.

"Later, when the day begins and ends," Vlad told him, sitting down on his bed. "Now, tell me what happened at school today? A Glasswryn told me of your lunchroom conversation."

"Sam, DeeJay and Valerie persuaded Tucker it was a role-playing game we were talking about," Danny said, summing up the conversation.

Vlad's eyes narrowed. "The boy knows too much. He will be watched."

"You're not going to kill him, are you?" Danny asked alarmed.

"For now, no," Vlad answered. "Come downstairs and apologize to your mother. Yes, I am telepathic and no, your parents do not realize who I am. Yes, I really did go to college with them, but thanks to your father's stupidity and a wrong ingredient, I ended up spending a brief time as a ghost. Very unsettling. I managed to inherit a second form and the powers that come with it."

Danny grinned. "It was the diet cola, wasn't it?"

Vlad scowled. "How ever did you guess?" he sarcastically questioned.

"I just know my dad," Danny said, standing up. "You won't hurt them, will you?"

"Only if they harm any of my children," Vlad warmly embraced him. "So you have decided?"

"Yes," Danny nodded. "I love her," he admitted.

"That is good to hear," Vlad told him. "Vyx has been too long without her mate."

* * *

**Author's Note: I'll explain what a Glasswryn is in a later chapter.**


	8. Crossroads at the Witching Hour

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Crossroads at the Witching Hour**

* * *

"So somehow I made it back to my house in the middle of the night after your parents called mine and said I'd fallen asleep," Sam listened to Danny chatter on the phone.

"Teleportation," she told him. "It's a sign of your coming conversion."

"Sam, I'm scared."

"Embrace your Death, Danny," she told him. "Just come to the crossroads at midnight. Father will be there to help you across."

* * *

Maddie quietly put down the phone.

"We're too late," she informed her husband.

Jack picked up a small silver-tipped dart. "Best if we do it now," he replied. "Quick and clean."

Both Fenton parents never noticed the shadow sliding against the wall.

* * *

"Psst, kid!" a voice hissed at Danny from his window.

Danny snapped his head up and around, from his desk where'd he'd been dozing. "Huh? Who are you?"

"Name's Johnny," the ghost told him. "My posse's from the other side of the river. Father sent me."

Danny glanced at the clock. "It's only seven."

"The Others have decided to take you out before you cross, kid," Johnny said, glowing jade eyes flicking worriedly at the door. "You must come now."

Danny swallowed and pushed back his chair. "My parents..."

_"Other child, listen to me,"_ came Uncle Vlad's voice in his mind. _"Go with the messenger. He will take you to a place of safety until the witching hour."_

* * *

"Jack, I can't do this to our own child," Maddie said, the silver-tipped dirk in her hands flashing in the light in the hallway.

"We must, Maddie. I love Danny, but he's Family now. We must uphold the law," Jack replied.

"Okay, Jack," Maddie said, resignation in her vocal tone.

On the count of three, Jack threw open the door to find the room completely empty. The curtain fluttered in the faint breeze from the open window.

"We've lost another one," Jack muttered, swearing under his breath. "If only we knew where the ceremony took place, we could rid this city of them and move on to the next grouping."

"Crossroads," Jazz said from behind them. "You guys are really going to kill Danny, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, Jazz," Maddie told her. "He's chosen; we cannot break the law."

"What about crossroads, honey?" Jack questioned.

"It's always done at the crossroads," she replied. "I've been reading the chronicles and I think there is a way we can save Danny."

"I'm all ears," Maddie answered. "What must we do?"

"So long as he does not taste human blood, he cannot cross over," came the quiet answer. "Please, Mom, Dad, don't kill him."

"I cannot promise that," Jack said, "but I'll do everything in my power to prevent it."


	9. Crying of the Winds

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Crying of the Winds**

* * *

"It suits you," Kitty, another ghost said, looking him over. "If Johnny hadn't come for me, I'd claim you myself." She gave the outfit a once over; the young ghost-to-be was wearing form-fitting black jeans, white knee-high boots, white fingerless gloves and a white high-necked poet's shirt.

"Hey!" both males protested.

"Wait, something's missing," Kitty said, ignoring their chorused protests. "Aha, here, Phantom," she said, tossing him a long black trench coat.

"What did you just call me?" Danny asked her aghast.

"Your new name," she told him. "It's custom for one of the Family to name the new child."

"See, kid, it's like this," Johnny said, taking over the explanation. "We of the Family take new names once we cross over. Even Father has a name for his second form."

"Uncle Vlad has a what?" Danny's head whirled. "You're confusing me."

"Comes with the territory," Kitty told him, as the other members of the quartet drifted in. "This is Mary Porter, alias Nicine; she's a Glasswryn, and Hart Silas Andersen, alias Ghost Writer. He's like me and Johnny, and like you will be, once you meet your Death."

For the next few hours, Danny was given a crash course on the species of the Family. He learned that while Gwynas were the white ladies/men of urban myth, humans had gotten the stories wrong: they weren't ghosts. They did, however, prey on those unfortunate humans who tried to help them.

He learned that Amorphs were shapeshifters who had a variety of forms. One ghost, Amorpho, was considered by the Family to be a hybrid of the two.

"So what exactly is a Glasswryn?" Danny asked, noting it was past his curfew. His parents would be going out of their minds if they knew where he was right now.

"A Glasswryn, Phantom, is a whisper on the wind. Literally," Nicine answered. "And don't give me that look, Other child. I only hold my form when necessary, but like any other creature I can be killed."

Ghost Writer nodded, then produced a goblet with a strange cuneiform script engraved around the rim. "Go to Father at the crossroads, young one. It's time."

"It's a lie we allow the Others to believe," Vyx said, appearing at his side. "Time to cross, Phantom. Interesting choice of name, by the way."

"I didn't pick it," Danny grumbled, clutching the goblet as Vyx teleported them to the crossroads.

* * *

"There's absolutely no way we can tell what he'll become, Jack," Maddie complained as her husband scrounged around for a net.

"So we'll take a little bit of everything," he replied, pausing in the action of donning black leather gloves lined with a silver-based lining that affected the Family no matter what aspect the creature might take.

Maddie sighed and glanced at the clock.

11:15 pm.

They would never make it to the crossroads if they didn't shake a leg and soon.


	10. The Door of the Birth

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**The Door of the Birth**

* * *

_The blood of Father._

_A whisper of night._

_The blood of a human._

_Juice of death's delight._

* * *

Uncle Vlad's black gloved hand accepted the goblet from Danny. His second form, a vampirish-looking ghost, scared the heck out of most people, but Danny found it comforting.

Uncle Vlad shifted back to normal human form and bit into his wrist. Danny's teeth ached, just thinking about it.

Father glanced over at Danny and nodded in understanding, as a measure of his blood fell into the goblet mixing with the juice of death, a nightshade extract Vyx had added before they'd left the house.

"Soon you will assuage your hunger, my son," Father reassured him.

Danny sighed. It had been explained to him that a poison would take him to Death, but Father's blood would then take over, initiating the change. To complete the crossing, Danny himself would have to take into himself the life-force of a human. Vyx would stop his heart; he'd be one of the Family.

"What if my parents show up?" he asked, plucking at the ruffles on his sleeves. He was going to make major modifications to his outfit when this was over.

"They have been taken care of," Father replied, handing him the cup. "Drink."

* * *

"Where are the crossroads again?" Jack asked, as Maddie turned the map right-wise again.

"I can't find it anywheres on here!" Maddie exclaimed in frustration. "I think we have the wrong map."

Jack sighed and pulled over to the right shoulder. He pulled out his cell phone. "I'd better call V-man. Jazz must have given us the wrong map."

The shadow in the backseat, listening to the Others, vanished to report on his findings.

* * *

Danny pressed his lips to the goblet, his stomach flip-flopping. "I can't do this," he moaned, voice slightly muffled.

_"May I help?" _Father asked him telepathically.

"You're allowed to do that?" Danny asked him. "There's not some sort of rule against it?"

_"I am Father,"_ came the silent laughter.

* * *

"He's not answering," Jack said, hanging up. "Strange."

Maddie shook her head. "He does have legit business to take care of, Jack. We can take care of the Family ourselves."

"I'll double check those coordinates with Jazz," Jack said, dialing his home phone.

"Ring, ring," a taunting laugh echoed, as a pink mist filled the cabin of the vehicle. "Nighty-night, humans."

"Nice work, Des," Nicine whispered, shimmering into view.

"So you have wished it," the ghost djinn said, examining her handiwork. "So shall it be."

* * *

Danny felt courage and resolve flood through him. A force, not of his own, compelled him to lift the goblet to his lips again.

He locked eyes with Sam and swallowed nervously. "Bottoms up," he said, tilting the goblet toward his mouth.

It exploded.

Vlad's hand moved slightly, his face a mix of annoyance and stoicism. The Other child lay at his feet, stunned and unharmed. He stared down at the shattered remains of the cup.

"You have the second ready, Miss Manson?" he queried the day vampire.

"Right here," Sam said, handing over a tiny vial containing a small mix of the darknight herb and Father's blood. Darknight was an excellent substitute for nightshade.

"Thank you, child," he murmured, breaking the seal. "Daniel, open for me."

* * *

"I see him!" the skeletal parrot screeched to his human, a ghost child of five named Youngblood.

"Where?"

"Bushes to your immediate right."

"Skulker! The filthy human is eighty degrees to your backside," the ghost child called out.

The human, bound and gagged, was dumped at Father's feet.

"Skulker, take off that ridiculous hood from the child," he ordered. "The boy is not one of your gargoyles."

"Vladimir..."

"No buts, do it."

"Alright," the ghost grumbled, obeying his oldest friend.


	11. Green Edge

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Green Edge**

* * *

Eavesdropping has its merits. Tucker Foley would do anything for the right amount of money-even sell out his best friend. Not that I blame him-the youngest Fenton was on the verge of becoming a nighmare.

I hate hanging out with Dash and his air-headed disciples. Football was really the only sport that kept me in prime condition for hunting, besides track and basketball. I am young, yes, but I've experienced few monstrosities in this world-none like the Family. Where they came from and what they want with us are questions my Order has been trying to find out for millennia.

When I'd first been unmasked, thanks to my blunder, I had recognized Valerie Gray and Dee Jay Stanton instantly. They belonged to the incomplete quartet of West Amity. What really surprised me was to see Samantha Manson there. She seems the type, but I would never have really suspected her.

My prime target swayed a bit as he lurched forward. Fenton looked like he was half asleep on his feet. Had I been too late to save him? I knew the sister had been playing us for fools for some time now, but would even she allow her brother to become a monster like the rest of the Family?

I glared defiantly at the nearest monster-the ghost, Skulker. He grinned back. "Maybe if you're lucky, human, I'll place your pelt on the floor next to my bed."

Sicko.

At least, I could be comfortable in my knowledge that I had thwarted another possible conversion. No cup, no change.

* * *

Vlad laughed at the boy's presumptions. "You think I don't know your own thoughts, murderer. The cup is just a tool-a carrier for the life giving draught." He held up a small vial on a chain. "I am always prepared."

* * *

NO!

* * *

Vyx looked over to the Other who dared to harm her mate. "What will you do with Kwan, Father?"

"Not, I, dear girl. Daniel will carry out the judgment upon the Others, starting with this one," Father replied, tilting Danny's head back.

He pressed the vial to the boy's lips as Vyx placed a small glowing green stone over her lover's heart. "Ready?"

* * *

I watched in horror as Fenton was forced to swallow the vile poison of these undead creatures. His eyes flew open; blue orbs wide in shock and terror.

Please, God, why must he die in this manner?

Darknight is quick; there are no convulsions, just a steady fading of the heart. I could see the changes happening already.

* * *

"His eyes are the right shade," Vlad said, as Vyx positioned the glowing stone over Danny's heart. "Do it."

Vyx nodded, as Danny's now indigo eyes met hers, tears forming in the corners. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Fenton screamed as the stone sucked out his soul. I couldn't feel the threads of life wrapping around his body anymore. His body began to glow, the indigo eyes giving way to the glowing green of the stone.

* * *

Father helped his newest son to his feet. "Do not be afraid, Daniel. The hunger can be tamed; your quartet will show you what to do. For now, you must feed."

Danny nodded, as the human's head was forced back; his throat exposed. He swayed for a moment, then Valerie and Dji were there, guiding him forward.

"Danny, don't do it!" three human voices yelled out.

* * *

I watched as Fenton's drugged expression came alive, like he'd been in a deep sleep. "Jazz? Mom? Dad?"

"They will kill you, Daniel," the monster lied to him. "That is the primary function of the Others."

* * *

"How did they get free?" Skulker called to the Ghost Writer.

"They made a wish. Des was honor-bound to grant it," came the response.

"Should have guessed."

Danny stared at his parents and his sister. They were armed with a map, a host of otherworldly weaponry, and a box of fudge. He turned toward Uncle Vlad, who nodded his head.

Vyx placed her hand on his. "Human blood seals the conversion. You will die unless you feed."

"Hold!" Father said, his teal eyes borrowing into Jack Fenton's pain-filled owned. "Let the Others have their say."

* * *

**Author's Note: This chapter alternated between Kwan's POV and the general POV. Sorry, if it was confusing.**


	12. The Eye's Tower

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**The Eye's Tower**

* * *

Father smiled. "Well done, Jack. I must say, how smashing you look in that uniform, Maddie. You've done well, utilising your resources, Jasmine."

Maddie blushed for a moment. "Thanks, Vlad, but what are you doing here?"

"He's their mysterious Father," Jack growled. "A murderer of humans."

"Not a murderer," Father said, smiling. "A survivor and provider for my people."

Danny looked like a deer caught between the headlights. He felt light-headed and woozy. "Sam, I..."

Father turned sharply towards them then. "Vyx, Daniel must feed."

Vyx nodded. "Come on, everybody, chow time!"

Valerie grinned. "This was worth the wait."

Jack's whole being screamed for relief, but his limbs had turned to concrete. "No drop of human blood will touch Jack Fenton's son's lips! This, I vow."

"I beg to differ," Vlad smugly replied. "He is my son now."

Maddie and Jazz, unlike Jack, were free to move around, in a limited capacity. The Family had enclosed a circle around them to prevent them from fleeing.

Jazz was horrified at what her little brother was about to do. She could see the hunger and blood lust in his eyes. "Kwan! Danny, don't do it!"

* * *

Kwan screamed as his once-girlfriend ripped out a huge section of his upper right arm with her teeth. The blood spurted, staining her shroud, as she wrestled him to the ground. "I'm part of the A-list again, dearie," she sneered. "How does it feel to be brought so low, mighty hunter?"

"He's a little hot under the collar," Dji smiled tenderly at the Other. "How about we cool you off a bit, hmmm?"

Not excruciating. Not hellacious. No words could describe the pain Kwan was feeling at the moment. He had one gorgeous girl in a death-shroud ripping chunks of flesh out of his arms, while another slowly froze his lower extremities. A black-out was imminent.

Kwan turned dark eyes to the dark-haired vampire leading the ghost to his side. "Fenton, I'm s-s-s-sorry."

"A bit late for that," Fenton's voice echoed in answer.

"KILL ME NOW!" Kwan screamed as Dji's icy hands curled over his heart. "ANYTHING WOULD BE PREFERABLE TO THIS!"

* * *

Jazz, openly crying, didn't notice her mother, very carefully load a small blow dart with a poisoned-tipped weapon. Her eyes were locked on her little brother, whose lips hovered over the tiny pinprick wounds Vyx had made for him.

"Danny!"

* * *

Phantom no longer had any notice of his surroundings. His only thoughts were on learning to feed. He nuzzled the wound softly, Kwan's whimpers buzzing through the haze in his mind.

_Daniel!_

**Twap!**

He hit the offensive bug, driving the tiny dart's poison further into his bloodstream. Within seconds, he fell to the ground, barely hanging on to life by a thread.

Vlad released control of Jack to rush to Daniel's fallen side. "Did he drink?" he asked Vyx.

"No," Vyx replied. "The Other barely has a heart beat left."

Vlad nodded, his eyes focused on the boy, who had fallen for the second time that evening. Grabbing the human, he sliced open the boy's wrist and pressed to Daniel's cold lips.

_Drink, foolish ghost child," _he told Daniel.

Danny's lips parted.

* * *

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the night as Jack Fenton tore a bloody swath into the Family. Maddie's silver double-bladed machete with its iron-honed edges took out the core battery of Skulker's armor.

"Take that, ghost!" she yelled.

"Hey, woman! That cost a decade's worth of work to make!" he yelled.

"So?"

* * *

"He's dead," Father said quietly. "Dispose of the remains."

Val and Youngblood nodded and took off, the body bouncing on the ground below them.

"Bet you I can bash his brains out on that big boulder over there," Youngblood challenged, taking the front end.

"Not likely," came the retort. "Ugh, he's heavy."

* * *

Nicine screamed as the Other's projectile sent her reeling backwards into the night world of death.

Maddie paused to wipe the monster's blood off her silver blade. "Bye-bye, sucker."

* * *

Phantom felt the hot, salty liquid hit the back of his mouth. He greedily sucked the fount. He felt the human's pulse weaken, then the fount was taken from him. He moaned. The poison is his system was destroyed by the warmth of the blood he'd just drank. As a ghost, he would only need to survive on blood every so often, a human provided more than enough nourishment with his emotions. He looked up in time to see his once-father with a silver-tipped blade in his hands, poised to strike home. Emerald eyes turned indigo.

Vlad flashed Jack a triumphant smile, as the Other poised above them to strike the dirk home. "Like I said, Other; he is Family now."

"I wish," a girl's strong soprano rang out, "that none of this had ever happened."

Desiree stiffened as she felt the power surge forward. Sending an apologetic looked towards Father, she reluctantly murmured, "So you have wished it, so shall it be."

* * *

**Author's Note: Last chapter explains what happened to Tucker.**


	13. The Indigo Envelope

Misty Secret

By: Wilona Riva

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**The Indigo Envelope**

* * *

Jazz's eyes flew open. Where was she? Disoriented, she looked around for something familiar.

"Was it all a dream?" she wondered out loud.

"You say something, honey?" Jack asked, poking his head in the door, sparking an alarm in Jazz.

"Oh my gosh, Danny!" she exclaimed, tearing past him, down the hall, and burst into his room. His shower was still running, but a gleam of a familiar indigo envelope peeped out from under a pillow.

She scowled. So the wish djinn had undone the events of the last few days. She plucked the envelope and tucked it under her arm. Danny would never know.

* * *

"Is it wise to keep them in such a state?" Danny asked, while watching the Ghost Writer type away on his keyboard.

"You did ask they not come to harm, ghost child," Skulker replied. "The Family protects its own."

"What I still don't understand is how Kwan came to be involved in all this," Sam commented. She'd reverted to her human form; Uncle Vlad was supposed to teach him how to do this later this afternoon after arrangements had been made for his parents' and sister's care.

"Kind of my fault, Sam," Tucker said, as two grim gargoyles led him in, he was clutching his PDA in fright. Danny looked weird as a ghost; he was floating in the corner while talking with another pale-faced ghost with curly black hair, black wire-rim frames, and a Harry Potter-style scarf.

"You'd better start talking, human," Skulker said, folding his arms.

"When Sam and Valerie told me about the role-playing game, I started asking around to see if anyone knew anymore about it. Kwan overheard me talking to Nathan and began pressing me for the details. They found his body, you know, in the woods; the police think coyotes did it," Tucker said.

Dji scowled; all her hard work and he thawed out. Just her luck!

"And you want to join the Family?" Danny asked him, turning around to join the conversation. "You never could leave well-enough alone."

"That is for Father to decide," Desiree answered, nipping in before Skulker. "Phantom, Father has finished making the arrangements. He wishes to speak with you."

"Phantom?" Tucker asked.

"You get a new name when you join the Family," Danny explained.

"Danny Phantom. I like it," Tucker admitted, rolling the name on his tongue.

"So do I," Sam purred. Much to Tucker's amusement, Danny blushed, as he floated to the floor and knocked on a door at the far end. It opened for him and he disappeared inside.

* * *

"You cannot stay in Amity Park, Daniel," Uncle Vlad said, a bit exasperated. "You are too young to live on your own, you cannot be gainfully employed for another two years, and in little as ten years, people will begin to notice that you are not aging properly."

Danny sighed, slumping his shoulders. "What's going to happen to me then?"

"I'm relocating your quartet to my mansion in Wisconsin. You will receive the best schooling and training that I will provide," Uncle Vlad told him. "I've already taken care of the human boy's family and education as well."

"You're not going to kill him, are you?"

Uncle Vlad shook his head. "No, he's of more use to me alive than dead."

"Is he going to become Family?"

"Again, no," Uncle Vlad answered. "The boy's family, even now, has been apprised of his recent acceptance of a full scholarship to a prestigious technological academy in Wisconsin. All the details have been taken care of."

"Meaning Tucker doesn't know yet," Danny said wryly.

_"No, and you are not to tell him, my son; I would like to have that privilege myself. I know the boy is dear to you and young Vyx, that is why he still lives."_

"I really hate when you do that," Danny muttered, shaking his head to clear it of Vlad's mental echoes.

"Get used to it, Daniel. When the sun sets, I want you to be ready. We are going to comb the city one last time before we leave for any sign of the Others. I want this region wiped free of them. You are to pass the word on," Uncle Vlad said, rising from the desk he'd been sitting behind.

"Alright."

* * *

"That went well," a shadow dhampir murmured, slipping into existence beside him.

"In due time, Myrelynda," Vlad said, gathering his wife to his arms. "He will grow used to our world."

* * *

"You're sure he said one final sweep for the Others?" Skulker asked.

"Yes," Danny replied.

"Finally, some action," Johnny 13 said, rising from his place on the sofa by the fire. "I was getting bored."

"Danny, what's going on?" Tucker asked, getting a bit scared-not that he was going to admit it.

"Just going to get a bite to eat and some entertainment," Valerie answered, before Danny opened his mouth. "We'll bring you a double Nasty back."

"Gee," Tucker murmured. "Thanks."

* * *

The Ghost Writer's hands paused above the keyboard, looked thoughtfully at the humans under his watch, then smiled as he read over his work. Phantom would be pleased; it had been Father's suggestion after all.

* * *

Jazz tore open the indigo envelope.

_Dear Jasmine:_

_The world around you is quite real. Your brother is safe; do not be alarmed. _

_You, however, for protecting one of our own, have been invited personally by Father himself to join the Family. _

_Choose wisely._

* * *

**Author's Note: And there's the opening for the sequel. The first chapter is already done. When I get a few more chapters finished, I'll post it.**


End file.
